R.A. Davenport
Richard Alfred Davenport (18 January 1777 - 25 January 1852) was an English poet and miscellaneous writer. Life Davenport was born in Lambeth, 18 January 1777. He started work as a writer in London at an early age. In the late 1790s he knew John Britton and Peter Lionel Courtier through a debating society, the "School of Eloquence". Davenport wrote large portions of the history, biography, geography, and criticism in Rivington's Annual Register for several years (1792 to 1797, according to John Britton). He edited, with lives, a number of the British poets for the Chiswick Press edition in 100 volumes (1822); the biographies were supplied from the existing ones Samuel Johnson, with Davenport, Samuel Weller Singer, and some others, writing the rest. Later he did much work for Thomas Tegg. Family Davenport married in 1800; they later separated, and she became a novelist under her married name Selina Davenport. They had two daughters together; a son Theodore Alfred Davenport was not from this marriage. Elizabeth Gaskell encountered Selina Davenport in Knutsford around 1850. Final years For the last 11 years of his life Davenport lived at Brunswick Cottage, Park Street, Camberwell, a freehold house of which he was the owner. Here he lived and worked alone, drinking large quantities of laudanum, in some squalor at the end. On Sunday, 25 January 1852, a passing policeman was attracted by someone moaning. He broke into the house and discovered Davenport unconscious, with a laudanum bottle in his hand. Davenport died before anything could be done for him. An inquest found his death to be an accidental overdose. Writing Biograhy Besides his work for the Chiswick Press Poets, Davenport compiled A Dictionary of Biography (1831), and produced an edition of Matthew Pilkington's General Dictionary of Painters (1852). Other works Davenport also wrote: * New Elegant Extracts, 2nd series, Chiswick, 12 vols. 1823–7; * The Commonplace Book of Epigrams, a collection in which some pieces are original, Edinburgh, 1825. To Murray's Family Library Davenport contributed: * The Life of Ali Pasha of Tepeleni, Vizier of Epirus, surnamed Aslan or the Lion, 1837; * The History of the Bastile and of its principal Captives, 1838, several editions; * Narratives of Peril and Suffering, 2 vols. 1840, new edition, New York, 1846; * Lives of Individuals who raised themselves from Poverty to Eminence and Fortune, 1841. Davenport translated many works, and contributed to periodical literature articles on biography, poetry, criticism, and other subjects. He was also a writer of verse. Some of it was set to music, by his friend Timothy Essex. Editorial roles included the works of William Robertson the historian, with life, 1824; William Mitford's History of Greece, with continuation to the death of Alexander, 1835; and some works like William Guthrie's Geographical, Historical, and Commercial Grammar, and William Enfield's Speaker. Publications Non-fiction *''The Life of Ali Pasha. London: Lupton Relfe, 1822; London: Thomas Tegg, 1837. *A Dictionary of Biography. London: Thomas Tegg, 1831; Boston: Gray & Brown, 1832 **also published as ''The Universal Biographical Dictionary: Embracing the most eminent characters of every age, nation, and profession. New York: Leavitt, Trow, 1849. *''Sketches of Imposture, Deception, and Credulity. London: Thomas Tegg, 1837 **also published as ''Delusions, Impostures, and Deceptions; with remarkable instances of credulity. London: William Tegg, 1869. *''A History of the Bastile; and of its principal captives. London: Thomas Tegg, 1838; Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1846. *''Narratives of Peril and Suffering. (2 volumes), London: Thomas Tegg, 1840 Volume II **published in U.S. as Perilous Adventures; or, Remarkable instances of courage, perseverance, and suffering. New York: Harper, 1841. *''Lives of Individuals who Raised Themselves from Poverty to Eminence or Fortune. London: Thomas Tegg, 1841. Edited *''The British Poets (with lives by Davenport). (100 volumes), Chiswick, UK: C. Whittingham, 1822. *William Robertson, The Works. Chiswick, UK: C. Whittingham, for Thomas Tegg, London, 1824. The Common-place Book of Epigrams. Edinburgh: John Anderson / London: Thomas Tegg, 1825. *William Mitford, The History of Greece. London: Thomas Tegg, 1835. *''New Elegant Extracts: A unique selection, moral, instructive and entertaining, from the most eminent prose and epistolary writers''. (12 volumes), Chiswick, UK: C. & C. Whittingham, for Carpenter, 1827. Volume II *Matthew Pilkington, A General Dictionary of Painters. London: W. Tegg, 1852. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Richard Alfred Davenport, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 31, 2016. See also *List of British poets References Notes External links ;Poems *Richard Alfred Davenport (1779 ca.-1852) info & 8 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 ;About * Davenport, Richard Alfred Category:1777 births Category:1852 deaths Category:English writers Category:18th-century poets Category:19th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:English poets Category:Poets